Advertising apparatus.



w. P. GILL.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS. 4 nrmonmn FILED MAR. 12, 1908.

908,854. Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

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WILLIAM F. GILL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ADVERTISING APPARATUS. l

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 12, 1908. Serial No. 420,744.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. GILL, a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of- Kings, city and State ofNew York, have invented an Improvement in Advertising Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for advertising purposes and isparticularly designed to successively display a series ofadvertisements, pictures or other devices to be shown, and theadvertisements, pictures or other devices, as will be understood, may bemade of any suitable material for the purposes and the times at whichthey are to be displayed. The advertisements, pictures or other devicesto be dis layed, are preferably connected and carrie by suitab e frames,which in turn are connected to endless carriers and the principal objectof my present invention is to provide a simple apparatus in which theadvertisements or pictures to be displayed are brought into view, thereheld for a predetermined period of time and then removed,-eachadvertisement or picture upon its removal giving place to the nextsuccessive advertisement or picture which is then brought into view.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably employ a casing, endlesscarriers or chains, rollers over which the said carriers pass, aplurality of devices pivotally connected to said carriers, meansassociated with the said devices and each adapted to carry anadvertisement, picture or similar device, and means whereby the saiddevices and the aforesaid means and the advertisements or picturesassociated therewith, as well as portions of the said carriers aresupported and automatically shifted in the dlrection of I travel of saidcarriers when the said advertisements or pictures are not in view, aswill hereinafterbe more particularly set forth.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of theadvertising apparatus comprising my present invention. Fig. 2 is asection on line a, 11:, Fig. 1, the parts thereof being divided foreconomy of space. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a portion of one of thecarriers and the devices associated therewith and the means connectedthereto for supporting the advertisements or pictures. Fig; 4 is an endview of the parts as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig.3, showing the parts therein disclosed resting upon the support bar.Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are al on an enlarged scale, and Fig. 6 is an elevationof a modification of the manner in which the advertisements or picturesmay be supported from the devices connected to the carrier.

Referring to the drawing, I preferably employ a casing comprising a base10, a bottom member 11, side members 12 and 13 respectively, front andrear members 14 and 15, respectively, and a top 16, all of which may bemade of any suitable material and joined together in any desired manner,and as will be apparent, the front member 14 may be provided with a door17 in which a pane of glass 18 or other transparent material is fitted,and the rear member 15 may be provided with a similar door 19 fittedwith a panel 20, or inasmuch as the casing comrises no essential featureof the invention, both the front and rear doors may be provided withpanels or panes of glass as may be found necessary in the use of theapparatus.

Patented J an. 5, 1909. l

In the upper portion of the casing I em- Eloy a drive shaft indicated at21 and this rive shaft may be journaled in bearings 22 secured to thetop member 16, and fixed on the drive shaft 21 there are sprockets 23.

Fixed in suitable positions in the side members 12 and 13 there arearbors 24 and sprockets 25, and a sprocket 26 is mounted on each arbor24, the sprockets 25 being in line respectively with the sprockets 23 onthe drive shaft 21 and passing around each of the pulleys 23 and ltssprocket 25, is a drive chain 27. The arbor 24 and its sprockets arepreferably mounted adjacent to the rear of the casin and atsubstantially the same height in t e casing and adjacent to the frontthereof there is also em loyed an arbor a. in each side member of t ecasing and on each of these arbors a, a roller 1) is mounted.

28 designates an endless chain or conve er, two of which are preferablyemploye in carrying out this invention and these chains may be of thehook and link type as indicated in the drawing, or any other that willserve the purposes of the invention. Each of these endless chains ispassed over one of the s rockets 26 and the corresponding roller betweenwhich, in each side of the casing, a bracket 29 is employed, each ofwhich brackets supports a guide member 30 over which the endless chainor conveyer travels and by which it is supported in passing be.-

tween the said sprockets and rollers 26 and b.

In suitable positions and on each side of the casing are support bars 31preferably extending from the front to the rear members thereof andsecured therein by means of the staples 32 or otherwise and as isclearly iredicated in Fig. 1, these support bars are preferablyU-shaped.

Pivotally connected to the endless carriers or chains 28 is a pluralityof rods,' the ends of each of which are provided with loops 34 passingthrough correspondingly placed eyes in the links of the respectivechains 28. Each of these rods is provided with a main central portionindicated at 36, the ends thereof being offset as indicated at 37, theparts 36 and 37 being connected by the neck 35. Thecentral or mainportion 36 of each of these rods or devices pivotally connected to thecarriers is preferably fitted v with a split tube 38 adapted to supportand carry an advertisement or picture indicated at 39, the advertisementor picture being passed through the longitudinal slit in the s lit tube38 and secured therein in any suit- 1 a le manner; or as indicated inFig. 6, instead of employing the split tube, the advertisement orpicture 39 may be secured to a strip 40 of metal or other material inthe outer edge of which in suitably spaced positions, eyes 41 areprovided; the rod 42 pivotally connected to the endless carriers in thisinstance is provided with loops 43 adapted to receive the eyes 41 of thesupporting strip 40.

Now in the use of the hereinbefore described apparatus, a motor may beemployed or any other source of power that may be convenient orexpedient, the same bein applied to the drive shaft 21 in any suitablemanner and preferably so that the endless chains will be driven in thedirection indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, the su port bars 31 beingso placed that the offset ends 37 of the rods strike and rest upon thesame when the carriers have descended sufficiently far to ermit saidoffset ends to contact with the said support bars 31, so that theadvertisements or pictures which are in view when shifted automaticallyin the direction of the travel of the carriers or chains by the weightof the advertisements or pictures and that of the loop of the carrierbetween it and the -next further picture or advertisement.

It will be readily understood as hereinbefore indicated, that themajority of the plates or other devices bearing or containing thepictures or advertising matter are normally supported on the barsindicated at 31 in an inactive position; that is to say,- these plateswith their pictures or advertising matter, together with theintermediate por tions of the endless chains, are supported when thechains are not actuated by the motor mechanism, in order to successivelybring the pictures or advertising matter into view for the pur ose ofdisplaying the same, and moreover t at the inactive portions of the saidchains are so looped, as lainly shown in Fig. 1, as to prevent the suraces of the ictures or advertising matter from coming into contact withone another.

I claim as my invention:

1. An advertising apparatus comprising a casing, endless chains, rollersover which the said endless chains travel, a plurality of devicespivotally connected in spaced apart positions in the said endless chainsand adapted to carry pictures or advertising matter, means forsupporting a majority of the said devices and the intervening portionsof the said endless chains in loops when inactive so that the surfacesof the pictures or advertising matter are maintained in spaced apartpositions, and means for actuating portions of said endless chainssuccessively to move the said devices to display the pictures oradvertising matter thereon.

2. An advertising apparatus comprising a casing, endless chains, rollersover which the said endless chains travel, a plurality of devicespivotally connected in spaced apart positions in the said endless chainsand adapted to carry pictures or advertising matter, a pair of U-shapedbars adapted to support a majority of the said devices and theintervening portions of the said endless the a paratus is beingoperated, are supporte cent advertisements or pictures are looped asindicated in Fig. 1 and also supported by l y the said bars 31 and thoseportions of the carriers or chains between two adj'achains in loops wheninactive so that the surfaces of the plctures or advertising matter aremamtamed in spaced apart os1t1ons,

and means for actuating portions 0 the said endless chains successivelyto move the said the said bars 31, so that only sufficient power ldevices to display the pictures or advertising to actuate the carriersand pictures actually in view is necessary to operate the apparatus,

. each picture successively being carried up 1n front of the door 17,then to the rear of the apparatus whence it descends, taking its p acein turn at the rear of the advertisements or pictures supported by thebars 31, which in view of their U sha e permit every picture as the samedescen s into position therein, to cause the other advertisements or 6ppictures supported by the bars 31 to bei nected to each of the saidrods, a pair ofv U-shaped bars adapted to support a majority of the saiddevices and the intervening ortions of said endless chains in loops whenlnactive, so that the surfaces of the pictures or advertising matter aremaintained in spaced apart positions, and means for actuating portionsof said endless chains successively to move the said devices to displaythe pictures or advertising matter thereon.

4. An advertising apparatus comprising a casing, endless chains, rollersover Which the said-endless chains travel, a series of rods, the ends ofeach of Which are offset and the extremity of each offset end of whichis looped, the outer portion of each loop passing over links in the saidchains and the inner portion passing through an eye in a link of thesaid chains, a picture or advertising device pivotally connected to eachof the said rods and maintained in position laterally thereon by theofiset ends of the said rods, a pair of U-shapled bars adapted tosupport a majority of t e said devices and the intervening portions ofthe said endless chains in loops When inactive so that the surfaces ofthe pictures or advertising matter are maintained in spaced apartpositions, and means for actuatlng portions of the said endless chainssuccessively to move the said devices to display the pictures oradvertising matter thereon.

Signed by me this 6th day of March, 1908.

WILLIAM F. GILL.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINOKNEY, E. ZAOHARIASEN.

